I was working out in my little room on the terrace of our house in Madurai back in the early 90s when an older family friend named Kumar dropped by for a quick visit. Seeing me puttering around shirtless with a pair of adjustable dumbbells, he remarked,
"So, bud, how's the gymming going?"
That's as best a translation I can offer but the word "gymming" was definitely used. So why am I mentioning this? Because gyms have re-opened in Massachusetts today. I had a chat with a friend in the Boston area yesterday and he mentioned that he was definitely going to wait a month before going to his gym. I couldn't wait though. Calisthenics at home has been fine over the past few months but I have been hankering to push iron the last two weeks. So.. I gave into temptation and went to my gym mid-morning today.
My temperature was taken upon checking in at the gym and a few questions about any COVID-like symptoms, recent international travel etc. were asked. I was told that each member would go through that mini-screening process every time they came to the gym. Good! Only every sixth locker was available in the shower rooms. No shower, sauna or towel service. I have missed using the sauna the most. It was a great way to relieve soreness and also cleanse my skin inside out. Happy it is summer as, for now, I can soak at the beach on weekends. I was nervous in the locker room. So I just got in quickly and out of there.
There were a half-dozen patrons at that hour. The equipment didn't seem to have been moved around much. I had a few exercises in mind and I had planned to do them in any order. I just wanted to test the waters today and get out if I felt uncomfortable with anyone sneezing or wheezing in my vicinity. Nothing like that happened. Everybody kept their masks -- and distance -- on. There were sanitizer stands with disinfectant wipes everywhere. All of us diligently used them to wipe down equipment before and after use. Great!
Squatting has helped keep me limber and agile. So I approached the squat rack with bated breath.. and not just because of the mask. After my first high rep sets of squats with 135 lbs, I could feel myself almost sucking the mask into my nostrils. So I switched to doing a higher number of sets with only three reps each set and a slow eccentric. That felt better in terms of both muscle engagement and breathing with the mask on. Then, as lunch time approached, more patrons started coming in and I decided to call it a day even though there were a couple more exercises I had wanted to do. And I am not going to bother with cardio at the gym. I will do that outdoors for now.
Overall, it was a positively buoyant workout. Gym employees moved around with masks replacing the occasional empty sanitizer stand. Happy to see that. For now, I am planning to work my whole body with a handful of different exercises plus squats every time I hit the gym. Fancy splits and longer workouts will have to wait for the new normal. I have a bouldering session reserved at my rock gym later this week. One bouldering session and two regular weight training sessions a week should suffice for July. By end of the month, there should be enough data to review on new COVID infections, etc. across the state. I will re-calibrate my gym visits at that point.. assuming I don't get infected before then!
"So, bud, how's the gymming going?"
 |
| "So, bud, how's the gymming going?" |
My temperature was taken upon checking in at the gym and a few questions about any COVID-like symptoms, recent international travel etc. were asked. I was told that each member would go through that mini-screening process every time they came to the gym. Good! Only every sixth locker was available in the shower rooms. No shower, sauna or towel service. I have missed using the sauna the most. It was a great way to relieve soreness and also cleanse my skin inside out. Happy it is summer as, for now, I can soak at the beach on weekends. I was nervous in the locker room. So I just got in quickly and out of there.
There were a half-dozen patrons at that hour. The equipment didn't seem to have been moved around much. I had a few exercises in mind and I had planned to do them in any order. I just wanted to test the waters today and get out if I felt uncomfortable with anyone sneezing or wheezing in my vicinity. Nothing like that happened. Everybody kept their masks -- and distance -- on. There were sanitizer stands with disinfectant wipes everywhere. All of us diligently used them to wipe down equipment before and after use. Great!
Squatting has helped keep me limber and agile. So I approached the squat rack with bated breath.. and not just because of the mask. After my first high rep sets of squats with 135 lbs, I could feel myself almost sucking the mask into my nostrils. So I switched to doing a higher number of sets with only three reps each set and a slow eccentric. That felt better in terms of both muscle engagement and breathing with the mask on. Then, as lunch time approached, more patrons started coming in and I decided to call it a day even though there were a couple more exercises I had wanted to do. And I am not going to bother with cardio at the gym. I will do that outdoors for now.
Overall, it was a positively buoyant workout. Gym employees moved around with masks replacing the occasional empty sanitizer stand. Happy to see that. For now, I am planning to work my whole body with a handful of different exercises plus squats every time I hit the gym. Fancy splits and longer workouts will have to wait for the new normal. I have a bouldering session reserved at my rock gym later this week. One bouldering session and two regular weight training sessions a week should suffice for July. By end of the month, there should be enough data to review on new COVID infections, etc. across the state. I will re-calibrate my gym visits at that point.. assuming I don't get infected before then!
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